Quick fade to black - sudden fainting may indicate serious issues

The first time I fainted I was helping someone with something they needed to do on their computer. I suddenly felt a little dizzy and went down on one knee. The girl I was helping looked at me and asked "Are you all right?"

I said, "Sure, I'm fine", and stood up. A half second later I crumpled to the floor.

Do I need to tell you that I was a little shaken? I drove straight to my doctor, who checked me over thoroughly and gave me an unusual prescription: go get a burger at McDonalds.

Yeah, I had skimped on breakfast and had skipped lunch. Too busy. Too much work. Heck, I was a young buck, I could take shortcuts, right? My doctor felt I was food and salt deficient, maybe a little dehydrated too. Not to mention stressed by working so much.

I did straighten out my act quite a bit after that. It was true, I was working way too hard and abusing my health. I was making plenty of money, but what good is money without health? I cut back on work, went to the gym more religiously, and stopped missing meals. I'm dumb, but I'm not an idiot. We made less money. We survived.

It was ten years before anything like that happened again. I had got up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom and as I was leaving, boom, flat in my face in the hall. I can remember seeing the carpet coming at me and how much my chest hurt when I woke up - I hadn't even tried to break my fall, I just fell onto my chest full force.

That was bad, but I could rationalize it away. I was half asleep, peeing can lower your blood pressure, no big deal. But then just a few months later I went to get a glass of water and on my way back, bang, down again. The crash woke my daughter - she thought a car hit the house!

So, yes, I went to the doctor. Different doctor - she had me wear a heart monitor for a few days. They also did x-rays and ultrasound, but found nothing. No reason for me to faint. Well, yes, I was working pretty hard again because we had college bills looming. Stress? Maybe.

Years more went by. Whatever this is, it doesn't happen often. I had another incident last year or the year before where I went down in the bathroom and cracked my head pretty hard. Broke my glasses in that fall. Head hurt for weeks. Back to the doctor. More tests. No findings.

So, five episodes in twenty five years. Possibly a few more that I felt coming on but sat down quickly enough to avoid fainting. Not much of a pattern. The doctors have guesses, but no proof of anything. I feel like I can live with it - well, unless it kills me.

Here's the thing: if this is something that is going to kill me someday, I think that's great. Better to go quickly like that than suffer for weeks or months. You feel a little dizzy and the fade to black. Easy. No pain, no distress. A little disturbing for anyone who happens to be present as you take your swan dive, but an easy exit for you.

I'd take that.

Update

I've recently learned that these symptoms may be a nerve problem - the signals to speed up the heart don't get there quickly enough. There is also the possibility that these may may be a precursor to Parkinsons disease. As Rem Sleep Behavior Disorder may also indicate that, I am a bit concerned.

However, the link to Parkinsons seems to be those who develop these problems later in life - I have had them since I was quite young - the RSBD started before I was a teenager and the fainting was in my 40's.

The faintness has become worse, though. I find gardening very difficult now. Bending down makes me dizzy and in danger of passing out. No matter how careful I am, I end up with bad headaches after doing any work like that.

If you have similar symptoms, you definitely should be talking to your doctor.

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